Luke Dies AU
by milkshakesw
Summary: Camp Half-Blood has been destroyed and Long Island is now overrun by monsters. Can eight heroes restore Camp Half-Blood to its original glory and reunite all of the demigods before it is too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Luke Dies AU**

**A.N. - This series is based on what might've happened if Luke died instead of Thalia being turned into a tree, and if Annabeth, Luke, Thalia and Grover had arrived at Camp Half-Blood only a month before Percy. (Instead of three years). **

**Prologue – Annabeth **

We ran. Ran until we needed to stop – but we could not stop. If we stopped, we would be either cooked, bludgeoned, maimed, eaten whole or licked inappropriately by the 12 foot tall Cyclops pursuing us. Or all of the above.

"We need to move faster!" Luke said from in front. His blond hair was a shaggy heap on his head, messy strands covering his eyes and face. "Don't give up…"

Somebody screamed. Like a girl scream, except I knew it wasn't Thalia. Grover was already running behind a nearby tree when the Cyclops emerged from the right. "Scatter!" Thalia gasped. I ran as fast as I could towards Grover, who was whimpering loudly. He sat behind the tree, only meters from the Cyclops.

I reached Grover, and put my finger over his mouth. "Sssh… keep it together, Sissy. We'll be fine."

"I WANT MY FOOOOOD. WHEERREEEEE IS MY FOOOOOD HIDDDDINGGGGG?" The Cyclops. It was near. Grover started whimpering even more loudly. He was pointing not at me, but behind me, and his hand shook violently. His bloodshot eyes were wide with fear.

That was when I felt the warm, rotting breath against the back of my neck. Grover was trying to run away, but his hooves couldn't find any balance and he tripped. Then I heard a growl behind me. _Crap._

"RAAAARRR!" The Cyclops let out a mighty roar, and swung his spiked club to the ground. I rolled sideways to dodge the club, but I rolled the wrong way and my face hit the trunk of the tree I was next to. _Great move, Annabeth, _I thought. But this was not a time for jokes.

"Grover!" I called out. "Grover, are you okay?" Grover was nowhere to be seen. Nor was the Cyclops, Luke or Thalia. Then all of a sudden, they all simultaneously burst out of a nearby clump of bushes, the Cyclops hot on Thalia's, Luke's and Grover's heels.

"Go!" Luke screamed. "The camp is only two hundred meters away. We can make it…" I turned quickly. The entrance to Camp Half-Blood was visible, but the actual camp wasn't. Where we in the right place? By now, my friends (and Nasty Eye) had caught up to me. "Hurry!" I screamed, and ran apace with them.

"I'm going to eat you all SLOWLY, one by ONE!" The Cyclops said behind us. It's crazy ranting only made the whole experience more surreal. "Almost there…" Luke groaned. I turned and looked at him. There was a large, bloody gash on his thigh. Thalia was helping him along.

"Here, I'll help you…" I was just about to reach over to help Luke and Thalia, but I saw something so shocking that I fell over.

More monsters were appearing around us. Massive dogs that seemed to radiate heat, massive barbarians, and giants made of strange things like ice and metal, and many human and animal hybrids that looked like something out of a fantasy tale.

"Run…" I whispered. But it was too late. The Cyclops stood before me, club in hand. All of the other monsters were now behind me. "Annabeth, no!" Thalia cried. It sounded like she was crying. "Go on without me…" I said. I knew it was over.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." The Cyclops sneered and laughed, and his freaky friends followed suit. "Wait." Luke limped up to me, and helped me up. He whispered in my ear, "Go."

I knew it was a sign. All of a sudden, all of the monsters charged forward, and lunged at Luke and I. I ran, taking Thalia and Grover with me. I turned around to see Luke's sword fall on the hard earth.

Then his head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Luke Dies AU**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, or anything mentioned in the story.**

**I – Percy **

I thought that my day couldn't get any worse. But guess what? It did. As if finding out your teacher was a monster, almost being killed by her, receiving a pen that can turn into a sword, discovering your best friend is a half donkey and that you are the son of a GREEK GOD wasn't enough, then I don't know what is.

Seriously. I don't. Can anybody tell me? Can anybody tell me why the hell a freaking ten foot tall minotaur attacked me and made my mom disappear? Okay, let me start again.

"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please." My mother had said. I wasn't completely focusing because of the _thing _lumbering towards us, so it took me a while to figure out what she meant.

She wasn't coming with us.

The bull man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us. "Go, Percy! Separate!" I didn't want to split up, but I knew my mother was right – it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and found the monster bearing down on me. Its black eyes glowed with hate. It reeked of rotten meat.

The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but there was no way I could outrun this thing. Suddenly, the Minotaur charged at me, eyes glowing. I held my ground, and at the last moment, jumped to the side.

The bull man stormed past like a freight train. In a flash, it suddenly turned back around, but not to me. It turned to my mother, who was helping Grover up off the grass.

The bull man moved so fast that I almost didn't see it grab my mother. Grover shuffled away, sobbing between bleats. My mother was fighting, and I was running towards her, but it was already far too late. I threw my pen at the stupid Minotaur, but it missed and disappeared among the trees. I cursed, but it reappeared in my pocket an instant later.

Despite the terrible circumstances, I couldn't help but think, _Cool._ But then I was dragged back to reality.

Grover was right in front of me, and I helped him up, but I dropped him as I watched the Minotaur kill my mother.

Okay, they said that she wasn't actually dead, just taken somewhere. But I didn't believe them. When someone turns into sparks before your own eyes, the first thought that pops into your head is, _well, they're dead._

I couldn't help but scream, no matter how bad of an idea it was, when it happened. Grover covered his eyes. My mom shrieked, "Run! Percy and Grover, run!"

But we did not run. We watched like idiots as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, but it caught her. "Mom…" I whispered. I was frozen in fear.

Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed its fists around my mother's neck, and she vaporized.

Gone. Just like that.

Anger replaced my fear. I stripped off my red rain jacket. "Hey, ground beef!" I yelled, swinging my red jacket in the air. The monster, whose attention was focused on Grover, now turned to me. I swear I saw smoke coming out of its nostrils. "RAARRRRRRRRR!"

The monster charged, faster than it did before. I had less than a second to uncap my sword and jump on top of the Minotaur, both of which failed. My sword went flying and I didn't feel it reappearing in my pocket. I was lucky I managed to dodge and that I still was holding my red jacket.

Even luckier, the monster was stuck to a tree, one of its horns broken. I carefully reached out, and broke one of them off. The monster screamed in agony. It was breaking free.

I figured out what I wanted to do just as the bull man broke free. It charged at me again, and I drove the horn into its side. It squealed like a pig and then, just like my mom, vaporized into thin air. Except this time, it left behind a golden dust that settled all over my body. _The monster is gone._

"Grover!" I called out. "I'm here," replied Grover. He was on the ground only meters next to me. "Are you okay?" He nodded and stood up.

Suddenly, the thunder became one thousand times louder and the wind a million times stronger. My red jacket blew away, until it was a dot in the black sky.

"Come on," I said. "The weather is getting worse. We have to go." Grover pointed to the hill in front of us. "Camp Half-Blood is just over there. Let's go."

And we went.

We made it over the hill, but what we saw made us want to turn back.

"It's all…gone." Grover said. He fell to the ground, dismayed.

The whole area was rubble, massive structures shattered on the ground. It was devoid of any life; I had trouble finding even a tree that was still alive. We searched through the rubble for hours, looking for somebody to help us.

The whole camp was destroyed.

That was when I saw him. "Grover…"

Grover came, and gasped at what he saw. "Oh, Lee…"

There was a boy holding an empty bow, lying among the rubble. He had a very muscular build and was at least ten years old. He lay next to a boy who held an axe.

But just like the other boy beside him, he was dead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Luke Dies AU**

**A.N. - Hi guys. If you are reading, plz remember to review, follow and fave! This is my first fanfic so I understand if it is terrible. –**

**II – Leo **

I was thinking about my mother's death, crouching behind a sheet of plastic in a ruined shed. I was in a position where I could be easily seen, but I didn't care at that point.

_I want it to be over, _I thought. _I just want to be with mom. Who knows? Maybe she'll forgive me._

Okay hold up.

This is WAAAY to melancholy for a Valdez story, am I right? But, it is kind of the only way to tell it. I know. It did suck, for those of you asking.

Anyway, I was crying in that position when to boy came. I was so surprised that I sneezed, and that was probably the only reason he saw me. Then, I thought he was going to kill me.

But now, I realise the sneeze was a blessing.

The boy was covered in some gold glitter stuff, and he held a sword. I was like, _Okay… but can I die another way?_

"Are you all right?" The boy called out. I got a better look at his face. Piercing green eyes, dark hair. He looked about the same age as me, but a bit taller and muscular.

"What are you doing here, the monsters will get you!" The boy was starting to get a little bit worried. "Come on, follow me back to my friend Grover, we'll take care of you. Quick… I don't want to lose him."

I still did not budge.

Then, a harsh wail filled the air. The boy almost dropped his sword. "Grover! Grover, where are you!" Then he promptly ran off and left me alone again.

_Grover, _was my first thought. _What kind of a name is that? Is he like a tree or something?_ I know it was a selfish thought and that I should help that boy and his friend Grover. But, then I would just end up dead too.

That fire was a freak accident. NOT my doing. Why and how would I have the power to control fire anyways? But then I remembered my first thought.

_I would just end up dead…._

I jumped up to my feet, and after a few pre-battle stretches, rushed to join the boy. On the ground, I saw a knife. Just in case the two boys were monsters or if I came across one of the monsters I saw walking around… or maybe it was really for a different reason.

I've never been completely sure.

I ran myself silly around the destroyed place. As stupid as it was, I could not find them. And it was getting really dark – really fast. I didn't think that the immense rain and thunder helped.

I didn't find them until they ram from behind me, and that boy that I saw earlier bumped into me. We both went crazing down to the ground, where most of his golden glitter settled. The rest went all over me – some even in my mouth. I spat it out. It tasted vile.

"Quick! They're coming! They've got Grover and they're coming for us. They can move really fast."

All I could manage to say was "whaaaaa….."

"Quick, hurry! The snake women are catching up!"

I started running; because I knew without turning around that he was right.

"Sssssso clossse, I can sssssmell them!" A female voice cackled. A different one, slightly deeper and more ominous, cried out, "a feassst for two – three fresssh demigodssss!"

_Oh my God. _I thought. I no longer wanted to die.

"Come on!" the boy in front of me whispered. "If we go through those trees, they'll lose track of us, and then we can come back out and find a place to hide.

I turned around, just for one second, and almost threw up. Two ladies were chasing us, except their hair was green (that somehow didn't look dyed), they had scaly oily skin, but worst of all, they were massive snakes from the waist down. One of them had _two _tentacles.

They were holding a donkey, with duct tape over its mouth.

Wait.

That wasn't a donkey. I t was a half boy, half donkey.

I turned back around.

"I sseeeee you!" One of the ladies said. It was the smaller one, the one holding the other… thing.

The boy's voice surprised me. "Quick…" then we tripped on a rock in the ground. So stupid.

We were on the ground as they caught up to us. "Delicioussss!" They both said. One of them dived at us, and I realised that they have claws.

The boy fought her off, and slashed at her with his sword. Then I found out what the golden glitter in my mouth was.

I actually threw up.

The other snake lady, the one with two tentacles, took this as an opportunity to knock me to the ground. The other boy was helping his friend up, and slashed at the snake lady with his sword.

She dodged. Then, she knocked the donkey thing – I assumed he was Grover – to the ground and threw the sword into the forest.

"It's over!" She cackled. Then, two things happened at once. I became so angry, just at everything that had happened to me, and I found myself yelling, cussing at the snake lady.

Then, the boy took a pen out of his pocket, uncapped it, and it turned into a sword. The same sword he had before. He stabbed the snake lady in the leg and freed himself from her grasp, and then I sent a fireball rocketing on to her face. She screamed in agony.

It took a few seconds, but then she was finally defeated as well.

"Oh my God!" Grover said. "You're a-"

Then, walking towards us, he fell through a hole in the ground.

**Thanks for reading. Sorry for all the cliffhangers- I'll try to stop that. Milkshake out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Luke Dies AU**

**Hey guys. THANKS FOR 120 VIEWS! Remember anyone that's reading, review and give me feedback. This **_**is**_** my first story!**

**III – Piper**

My name is Piper McLean. I know, you might ask, are you the daughter of Tristian McLean, who just starred in a really cool movie?

My answer would be, of course _no. McLean is a really popular surname. That movie is stupid. _But… I have to be honest. It's the truth.

But, life wasn't at all glamorous for me. In fact, it was terrible. Everybody thought that I was some kind of savage criminal. My dad had just hired a lady, named Jane, and I think it was specifically to torture me. Everybody always says I'm a thief, but people always just say yes to me. Is that so bad?

And what's worse, is how sad my dad gets when I get in trouble. I'm in such a bad position that I've had to go to five different schools for the past five years. My ADHD and dyslexia didn't help.

Then, at my sixth school, Tannatham College, I was determined to make it through the whole year. I was always getting kicked out – but this time, I wanted to try really hard to stay out of trouble.

Of course, I only lasted one day.

All of the sixth graders were ushered into the Assembly Hall, where we received the whole welcome speech. After that, we went off to our first class.

For me it was History.

I was the first kid to arrive in class. I sat down in the front row, because I really wanted to hear everything that the teacher would say.

I know. I was trying that hard.

Soon, the whole class had arrived, but everyone seemed to be heading towards the back. Eventually, there was only one empty seat – the one next to me.

Then, a girl walked briskly in. Her face startled me. She was pretty, but in an intimidating and calculating sort of way. She was fairly tall, had honey blonde hair, and seemed athletic. But what shocked me were her stormy grey eyes.

She quickly sat down next to me, not saying a word. The teacher hadn't arrived yet, so I held out my hand. "Hi." I said. "I'm Piper McLean." I prepared for the whole daughter-of-a-movie-star speech, but she just took my hand and said, "Annabeth Chase."

Then, the teacher walked in. I didn't want to judge, but he was the ugliest man I had ever seen in my life. He had several overbites (if that was possible), a permanent scowl on his face and quite a lot of pimples and facial hair.

"Good morning all." He said. His voice matched his horrible face. "Welcome to Tannatham College. Very soon at this school, you will be… surprised." He licked his lips, as if tasting the words. "My name is Mr Lycant and I will be teaching you History this year. Our first unit will be on Ancient Greece, and I would like to start right away…"

He started talking about Ancient Greece, which my dad had told me a little bit about. He told us to look in textbooks and that kind of stuff, but I wasn't concentrating.

I was focusing on the girl next to me. Something about her was … worrying.

Her clothes were filthy; she had small junk in her hair like bits of dirt and twigs, and she looked at everything warily, as if it might attack her – especially the teacher.

But worst of all, she kept clinging to something in her pocket.

Then, Mr Lycant looked at me. "Are you going to answer my question or not?" Damn. I didn't hear him. "Uhh…" Then the bell rang. Everybody filed out except Mr Lycant looked at us with his eyes wide and his nostrils … well, sniffing. "You two. Piper McLean and Annabeth Chase, yes? Could you just stay with me… for a moment?"

I gulped and looked at the girl in front of me. She rose to her feet. _I am going to get into some biiiiig trouble… _

Then, the girl Annabeth did something completely unexpected. She yelled, jumped over her desk and lashed out at the teacher with a bronze knife she pulled from her pocket.

The teacher was startled at first, but then he grabbed Annabeth by the wrist and pulled her down to the ground as if she was weightless. He stomped on her foot, and she cried in agony.

"What the hell…" Then something even weirder happened. Mr. Lycant or what I thought was Mr. Lycant grew hairier and hairier until he looked exactly like a wolf. His clothes seemed to have disappeared.

Then, with a mighty howl, he grew until his head barely touched the roof. "Uh… Mr Lycant…" I stuttered. Mr Lycant howled again. I don't know how anybody else wasn't hearing this. "I am not Mr. Lycant, you silly human." The voice was completely unnatural. "I am a mighty Lycanthrope!" Then I had an idea. "Really? Cos' to me, you just look like a fat werewolf."

That got the monster angry. With dashing speed, the Lycanthrope lunged at me, but I was lucky to dodge and sidestep. His claw pierced my shoulder lightly and tore my shirt, but I was otherwise untouched. I tried to grab the knife beside the groaning girl Annabeth, but then the Lycanthrope attacked me from behind and pinned me to the ground.

"I am NOT a werewolf!" The Lycanthrope said. "But YOU will die slowly!" Just then, the wall on the left exploded. I still don't know how anyone wasn't seeing this.

The werewolf thing turned to see what had caused the explosion. Two teenage girls, a teenage boy, and a… centaur? Yes, a centaur stood where the wall used to be. "Help them!" The centaur said.

The group charged but the Lycanthrope just barged through them all. Then, before anybody could do anything, it grabbed the girl Annabeth and ran away with her, holding her from its teeth. Before any of the teenagers or the centaur could do anything, the Lycanthrope swatted them away and ran off. Despite multiple spearing and bow and arrow attempts it managed to escape.

"Well…" The centaur said, reaching down to me, "I assume you're the Half-Blood?"

My day was just getting better and better.

**How was that? BTW, Tanatham School isn't a real place (that I know of) I just made it up because TANNATHAM is an anagram for MANHATTAN. I'm not American so if I'm getting the school system wrong, could someone tell me? Thanks. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Luke Dies AU**

**IV – Thalia (*Approx. 12 hours before the events of Chapter III)**

My day was completely ordinary, or as ordinary as it could be, until a satyr fell on top of my head. If it was any other satyr, I would've gone completely enraged, but it was the satyr I most wanted to see.

Grover.

I was just walking in the corridor underground, and a hard set of hooves made a CLANK sound with my head. I fell and groaned, but I looked up and saw a surprised Grover. Then Grover looked up and saw two boys, both staring at the new hole in the ground. After tackling Grover in a bear hug, I remembered.

_I better go tell Chiron._

So I did. "Grover!" I exclaimed. " How are you?" Grover nodded and brushed himself up. "Good, good. But I have a problem. A _monster _problem. These two are…" he leaned into my ear… "Half-Bloods."

I nodded, and ordered the two boys to jump down the hole. It wasn't that bad of a jump in my opinion, but they refused. "For Zeus' sake!" I screamed. I heard thunder rumbling in the distance. "Just come down, and I'll catch you!"

The smaller boy, who had slightly elfish features, gulped. "Thalia! What are you doing?" I heard Chiron come up behind me. "I see that Grover I back…" "Yes." I interrupted, pointing at the two boys above. "He brought two friends as well." "Oh, yes, I see." Chiron said with a wave of his hand. "Get them down here, will you?"

After a long walk through the earthy corridors (which Chiron struggled with) we came to the main area were the rest of the old campers were. They all stared at us as we walked by, and the two boys seemed to be more confused with each step.

Finally, we came to Chiron's chamber. "Sit down, will you!" He said. "We have an awful lot to talk about!" The two boys, Grover and I entered the room. We found Clarisse, Beckendorf and Silena in there too.

"Well…" Chiron said. "You two are Half-Bloods, yes?" The two boys looked at each other. Then they looked at Chiron. The small one began to mutter, "What is a Half-Blood…" then, in response, something amazing happened. A tongue of fire appeared above the boy's head. A claiming.

Beckendorf leaned forward and patted the boy on the back. "Welcome to nine, mate." The boy was confused, and he seemed horrified of the fire. "What…"

Chiron paused. "Let me explain." The boys nodded. I wasn't sure which one was paler. "First of all, what is your name?"

He looked only at the smaller boy… as if he had already met Percy.

"Percy. " The boy with the green eyes immediately said. He reminded me of myself. Then he stuttered, as if… trying to figure out if he could trust us or not. "Perseus Jackson."

"I know." Chiron said. "I was Mr. Brunner, don't you remember?" Percy's eyes widened. "Oh… I guess you do look like him." Percy obviously thought otherwise.

"My name is Leo Valdez." The son of Hephaestus said. He seemed like a child of Hermes to me, but I guess Hephaestus made sense. Chiron sighed.

"You two are Half-Bloods. That means that you are children of the ancient Greek gods, who still exist today." Already, the boys were confused. But Chiron didn't stop. "This place, what used to be Camp Half Blood, was a place for your kind, known as demigods, to train and defend yourselves against the dangers of the mortal world, such as monsters. Monsters still exist in the world, not just the gods. Camp Half Blood was also the only safe place for demigods… until it was destroyed. Exactly one month ago, when this satyr Grover…" Chiron gestured to Grover… "Brought this girl Thalia and two others to Camp Half Blood with monsters pursuing them, a battle began which destroyed Camp Half Blood." Chiron nodded to me, as if telling me to go on.

"The others were named Annabeth and Luke." I said. I looked at everyone in the room. They were still quiet. "Luke… died as we entered the camp and Annabeth fled during the battle, which lasted for a few days. There were casualties, and a few campers escaped. The camp is now overrun by monsters. All of the remaining campers and Chiron, the activities director, created an underground system below the camp to live. We thought it was safe. But upon your arrival, we have seen that it is falling apart."

The son of Hephaestus, Leo Valdez, hung his head. As if he felt guilty. "So you're saying that every kid here is the child of a Greek god or goddess, and my father is Hephaestus, the god of the forge and…" Leo stopped at that word, unable to believe that it was true. "And fire." I finished. Leo took a deep breath.

"What about me?" Percy piped up. "Who is my father?" Chiron shook his head. "We do not know until you are claimed."

"When does that happen?"

Grover scratched the back of his head.

"Sometimes it doesn't. Can we leave soon?" I was surprised by the voice. It was Clarisse, sharpening her stupid electric spear. Much lamer than mine. I frowned. "Wait…" I said to Chiron. "Where are you going?" Clarisse smirked. "Silena, Charlie, Chiron and I are going on a quest." My jaw dropped. "When were you planning on telling me this?"

"Come on. Percy, Leo, Let's go…" Grover ushered the other demigods out of the room.

Chiron looked me in the eyes. "We are going to leave very soon. One of our satyrs has recently informed us that he believes two demigods are going to attend a particular school this year. One of them…"

My eyes widened. "Annabeth."

Beckendorf nodded. "Yes… it is. I know that Mr. D has left for Olympus, but do you think you can take care of the camp for the next few days? The school is only in New York."

I nodded. Sure. All of a sudden, Grover ran back into the chamber. "It's Percy!" He said, catching his breath. "He's been claimed."

Everybody rose to their feet. "By whom?" Chiron asked.

Grover unexpectedly bleated (he's half goat) and said…

"Poseidon."

_**1 HOUR LATER**_

I told Percy all about camp and the gods, and my whole story with Luke and Annabeth, and he told me his.

"So you're just sad about your mum, right?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah. I mean, it was all so sudden."

I was alone with Percy in his chamber. Well, it was my chamber too, since we were next to each other. The empty Hera chamber was opposite me. "Especially now that I know who my dad is."

I sat on the bed opposite Percy. I know what it felt like when I found out that Zeus, Lord of the Skies, was my father. I already told Percy that, of course. Then I found Percy's green eyes piercing into my electric blue ones. "Do you think there's any way I can get her back? I mean, Grover said that she wasn't dead. Did Hades take her?"

"I'm sorry Percy, but I don't know. Let's go back outside."

We did. We went back out to the main area, where everyone was roasting s'mores by the artificial fire. About forty campers, and Chiron, Clarisse, Beckendorf and Silena were getting ready to leave. They were talking to Connor Stoll and Miranda Gardiner.

"If you find Travis, just let me know, okay?" Connor said. His twin, Travis, was among those who fled the battle. This was the first quest since then. "Same goes for Katie…" Miranda was cut off by something incredible.

The fire rose, until it reached the cavern roof. All of the campers were surprised and Leo screamed as he ran towards Percy and me. For a son of Hephaestus, he really did hate fire.

Then an image appeared through the fire. I couldn't believe it. Everyone else (excluding Percy and Leo) was bowing down to Hades, but it took me a while to catch on.

"Lord Hades…" Chiron mumbled. He looked even more surprised as everybody else.

Hades' deep voice filled the cavern. He stared directly at Percy and I. I'm pretty sure his mouth was moving, but only the two of us could hear it. It was explicitly clear:

_I have a deal to make. Except you have no choice. You must, by the solstice, reach the Underworld and give me what I want and I will in return give you what you want._

_I will return Sally Jackson, Katie Gardner, Travis Stoll, and… Luke Castellan to you. I will even help you rebuild Camp Half-Blood and will expel all monsters under two conditions. Firstly, you must make a Cabin 13 for me when Camp Half-Blood is rebuilt. _Okay, I thought. The solstice. Thirteen days. The cabin Hades mentioned is not going to look pretty, but so far it's a pretty good deal. But then came the catch.

_Secondly, you must give me what I want in exchange. _"What do you want?" I said aloud. Hopefully not too loud.

_Zeus' master bolt._

Then, the fire extinguished and the image of Hades was gone. I exchanged a quick look with Percy and we seemed to almost read each other's minds.

_Your sword you got from Chiron, Riptide?_

_Check. Do you have your shield…? _

_Aegis. Check._

I grabbed Percy by the shoulder, took Aegis and my spear from my chamber, and announced to the whole camp:

"We have a quest to do."

Nobody protested, and Chiron just nodded grimly. I swear for some reason I saw a nervous look on Silena's face… her eyes… gold? No. Just an illusion.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

The whole camp looked at me expectantly.

"Connor?"

Connor looked up at me.

"You're in charge of camp, and make sure you fix that hole."

I then promptly proceeded to climb up the hole with Percy, when Chiron, Clarisse, Beckendorf, Silena, and Grover following. "Well, we best be off." "Wait!" Leo crawled up the hole. "What?" I said.

"Can I come too?" Leo pleaded. I looked at Percy. "Leo," Percy said, "did you hear what Hades said back there?" Leo shook his head. "Well then you can't come."

Leo sighed. "Fine. I'll see you guys… soon."

I smiled. "Don't go starting any fires, okay?"

That really seemed to freak Leo out. "Bye!" He squeaked, and went back down the hole.

Grover bleated.

"Wait. Grover, why are you here?"

Grover bleated again nervously. "Special orders. Got to go to Vegas."

"Vegas?"

"Vegas."

"Ahem."

I spun around. Right, Percy.

"Well, bye Gro…" I stopped. Grover was gone.

"We must leave as well." Chiron said.

I was about to say something like _okay, bye,_ but something weird happened. Time seemed to freeze, and then I was holding a blue backpack that must have been full of supplies.

"Use it well!" A voice said. Silena. Though it didn't sound like her, and she had that golden look in her eyes again. Then they were gone.

"I think we should consult the Oracle before we leave." I said.

"The Oracle? What's that?"

"A mummy that can tell you the future through riddles."

"Oh. Isn't it destroyed along with the rest of camp?"

"No. We hid it."

"Oh."

We now stood in front of the Oracle, who was wrapped in light cloth. We were in the forest, so I wanted to do this as quickly as possible, before…before monsters arrived.

"She's freaky."

"Yep."

"So…what now-"

_Daughter of the sky, son of the sea…_

The Oracle started glowing, and green mist filled the air around us. The prophecy continued.

_And child of the darkest things ever seen…_

_Shall move west and defy…_

_The gods with false hope…_

_Amid the trickery,_

_The gods' rival will gloat…_

_As the true enemy rises…_

_From the undergrowth._

Then the Oracles eyes snapped open. They were empty shells, which made them even scarier.

_SEVEN!_

I instinctively turned my watch into my shield, Aegis. But the Oracle wasn't attacking. It was giving us images. First there was Percy, then me, then Leo.

Then a girl I didn't recognize battling a werewolf thing and another boy and a girl, holding hands in a big…casino? The boy who looked only seven or eight, seemed to be trying to escape, but the girl held on to him. Then, the worst image of all appeared. A girl, struggling against the ropes being tied around her neck. Somebody was pulling her honey blonde hair, but her stormy grey eyes stayed open.

We must have been sitting there for a while.

"Can we go now?" Percy said impatiently.

"Yeah, fine." I turned Aegis back into a watch and started trudging up Half Blood Hill.

We exited the forest, (though we saw some monsters nearby) and I took a moment to soak up the wreckage and devastation that had occurred here. Though our quest could return camp it to its original glory.

As soon as Percy and I left camp, I couldn't help but doubt our quest. I couldn't trust Hades. I touched my magic pendant that was around my neck. I always did when I was worried. Hadn't he sent all the Kindly Ones, the worst of his monsters, to kill me?

I don't know how much later I realised.

Hades hadn't sworn upon the River Styx.

**A.N. - Whoa! Really long chapter. I don't think I'll be able to top that. Anyway, for those of you who didn't understand, Dionysus had left to go back to Olympus (temporarily). Don't want this to be a really long author note, so bye! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Luke Dies AU**

**Hey there anyone that's reading. Btw, thanks for **

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**V – Nico**

Bianca should've listened to me. She should've come with me, and then we'd both be safe. I always knew something was wrong. But Bianca always told me that she was OLDER, and that she knew better. The people that attacked me were older than Bianca, but did they know better than her? I don't think so.

"Bianca…" I said. Bianca made a _tsk-tsk _noise and sighed. "Nico, we've been here for weeks. You really think that they'll just let us out now?" I moaned. "But you know I don't like it here! Something is…wrong."

Then somebody knocked on the door. Bianca was about to get up, but I said "No. I'll get it." I opened the door to a big man who looked like a lawyer. Though he was a different lawyer. Always changing, the lawyers were. Always changing.

The lawyer smiled. "Such a cute boy… so old, too." He covered his mouth as if he said something he shouldn't. I rolled my eyes. "I'm only eight."

"Well, the casino has a new card you can use for the games. Unlimited money." Bianca's eyes widened. I would've gasped, in the early days, but I was sick of the games. "No thanks, I'll stick to Mythomagic."

The man shrugged. "All right, but you don't know what you're missing out on." Bianca grinned. "I'll take it!" She snatched the card from the lawyer's hands. "Why, Bianca?"

The lawyer smiled. "Great…doing business with you." And with that, he left. Bianca grabbed my shoulder and held up the card in her hand. "Let's go play some games!" I groaned for the second time that day.

I mostly just watched Bianca play the games while I looked at my Mythomagic cards. Now I had twenty three cards and eleven figurines: only four more to go! Suddenly, I sensed someone, or something, watching us. "Bianca!" I said, pulling her hand. "I really want to go home. Back to D.C."

Bianca finally lost her game. One point shy of the high score. "Nico, you've been asking me a lot lately and I've been telling you – stop!" She turned back to her game. I saw somebody watching me – maybe the lawyer – and made the rashest decision I had ever made in my life.

I dropped the cards and ran.

I had no idea where I was going, but I had to get away. I was running through a maze of arcade and gambling games when I turned back and saw the lawyer, whispering to another guy in a suit.

I kept on running, but then I crashed into another man in a suit – one of the waiters I'd seen around. "Here, take this!" He said. He held out a pink flower. It looked edible. "Made from fresh lotus plants – it's deadly addictive." I shook my head and tried to politely leave, but when I bolted, he pushed me down to the ground.

"Help!" I screamed. "Bianca!" Bianca couldn't see me, let alone hear me. I could only close my eyes as the other man in the suit and the lawyer came up to me and took me into the darkness.

I woke up in a dark cell, pitch black with only one window at the top. I think the front of the cell was made of some sort of glass. The lights were on, so I could still see. "Let me out!" I cried. "Please!" I sobbed. Nobody came. I kept sobbing until I eventually fell asleep.

"We have to keep him locked up in here. He's figured it out."

"Ironic, too. The boy is only what, eight? How did he figure it out?"

"He's definitely stronger than his sister."

"What of the sister? We can't leave her without her brother. She'll notice."

"Just give her more, slow it down. They think it's only been a month when it has really been 68 years."

I was going to gasp, but they already saw that I was awake.

"He heard us!"

"What should we do?"

"We aren't that loyal to Hades. Just kill this one and we'll be fine."

The smiled and nodded in unison.

Then, as if they never said they wanted to kill me, the waiter guy came into my cell and held out one of the pink flowers. He said in a nice voice, "Eat it."

I almost smiled and took it, but I screamed, "NO!"

Then he grabbed me and pinned me against the wall and tried to shove it in my mouth. His voice was different… it seemed crazy.

"EAT IT NOW!" He screamed.

Then I realised something. It was stupid, because there were two other captors, but I did it anyway. I kicked the waiter guy right between the legs. He fell over, dropped me, and I found myself leg-to-face with the other two guys.

"What a foolish child!" One bellowed. He picked me up by the collar. "Fresh meat!" I frowned. "Wait…what? Who are you?"

The man laughed with his friend. "We are the Lotus Eaters! We trapped many sailors in the old days, and now we trap gamblers! However… you are an exception."

He punched me in the shoulder and threw me down on the ground. I started crying. Hey, I was eight.

"First fresh meat for centuries!" One of the Lotus Eaters said. "Curse Hades! What's he going to do? I'd eat all of his sons, if there were any more left!"

I had no idea what he was talking about. But I did know who Hades was – one of the only figurines I didn't have.

I screamed.

It was an unearthly scream, and it shook the whole cell – and the whole building.

"What…" one of the Lotus Eaters said. Suddenly, a fissure opened up in the ground and split in half. One of the Lotus Eaters fell through, screaming. The other one panicked. "AHHHHH!"

Two skeletons rose from the fissure. One dragged the moaning waiter guy back down, and the other sliced the head of the other Lotus Eater. I mean clean off. Then, the monsters and the fissures evaporated, and I was standing alone in an open cell.

A door outside my cell led to the Casino. A thought popped in my head.

_Bianca. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Luke Dies AU **

**VI – Grover **

I_ cannot _believe Chiron made me take the Labyrinth.

He knows that satyrs hate the underground – especially me, blah ha ha. I get nervous and claustrophobic and… well, you get it. The truth is though, I probably deserve it. When you think about it, it really is my entire fault that camp was destroyed. I couldn't even save Luke, and he and Thalia and Annabeth were the real heroes during that battle.

It was almost as if they were escorting me to camp!

I looked at the paper I had in my hand one more time:

**Bianca and Nico di Angelo **

**Parentage: Unknown **

**Location: Lotus Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas**

Vegas. How on earth was I supposed to get to Vegas? _I don't know how the Labyrinth works, _I thought. _I'll be dead before sunrise. _But that was the problem – time and space. Time and space change in the Labyrinth. _For all I know, I'm_ _in Mexico. Mmm, the enchiladas in Mexico are great. _

Then I suddenly felt a strong smell in the air. My eyes widened. A monster was nearby. I tried to run away as fast as I could, but I tripped. My hooves hit the ground and I felt a sharp stick hit my face. _Ouch. _ Then I felt warm breath behind me… but it wasn't the dead meat breath that monsters usually have, it was more… heat. A hellhound.

"ROOOOOFFF!" A massive hellhound licked my back and I convulsed. I got up shakily to my feet, and nearly screamed. The hellhound was bigger than any other one I had ever seen – and it was eyeing me hungrily. _Why hasn't it pounced yet? _I thought. _Doesn't it like satyr-on-a-stick?_

Then I noticed that the hellhound wasn't staring at me. It was staring at the stick. "You want the stick, boy?" I said nervously. The hellhound nodded enthusiastically and started rolling on the floor when I threw him the stick. "Now, now Mrs. O'Leary. Be nice." A man walked out of the shadows and I yelped. But then I saw that he was just an old man – human – and he seemed to be playing with the hellhound.

"Is that your…" I faltered. "Pet?" The man nodded. "Mrs. O'Leary is as tame as a household pet, satyr." He held his hand out. "The name's Quartus." He seemed friendly, so I took it. "Grover."

He nodded. "What are you doing in the Labyrinth – especially in the centre?" I gulped. "Well… I'm on my way to Vegas." The man raised his eyebrows. "Vegas?" I nodded. "Very well… would you like to see my workshop?"

When I first saw Quartus' workshop, I was blown away. Machines and blueprints were scattered on tables, and projects so complicated that I didn't understand them littered the massive room. There was a big, big window at the other end of the workshop, but there seemed to be nothing behind it. I fell over. Quartus, however, was too old and small to help me up, so I just grabbed on to the hellhound – I just couldn't get used to calling her Mrs. O'Leary – and pulled myself up.

Quartus grunted. "This body is tiring out." He muttered. I flinched. Usually, when somebody says they need to change bodies, it is not a good sign. "Uh… Quartus?" Quartus turned towards me – way too quickly. "Who are you?" Quartus chuckled. "I live in a workshop in the centre of the Labyrinth – which, frankly, I am amazed you wandered so close to – and I am very old. Who do you think I am?"

I gasped. Then I bleated. Then I farted. "Daedalus."

Daedalus nodded gravely. "But… weren't you mortal? How are you still alive?"

Daedalus – or Quartus – smiled. "I _am _mortal, Grover. This body is an automaton. That is why I look so old. This body – Quartus, my fourth body – it is fading. I have sensed that somebody powerful would come. What is your business in Vegas, if it was so important that you must use the Labyrinth?"

I gulped. Everything Daedalus just said was WAY too much to take in. Mrs. O'Leary licked my hand. I decided not to ask about the automaton thing. "Um… I have to collect two demigods. They are supposed to be powerful. Chiron has his suspicions."

Daedalus chuckled faintly. "Chiron – that old horse? Isn't he the activities director of…." he caught my eye, and seemed to immediately understand. "I see."

I nodded stiffly. Mrs. O'Leary howled. "Well, I'm on my way to Lotus Hotel and Casino. Do you have any idea why two kids would be living in a Casino in Vegas, especially if they were only eight and eleven years old?"

Daedalus sat on a chair, and motioned for me to come forward. I sat next to him. "I do not know much about the outside world nowadays, but the name… I think it may have something to do with the Lotus Eaters. My mother tells me that Odysseus encountered them on his journey. He rubbed the back of his neck, where I could vaguely make out a tattoo – it was some kind of bird. "Who is your mother?" I asked.

"Athena." Daedalus replied, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "She talks to me often."

I scratched the back of my neck. I decided not to ask questions. Chiron told me to get to Vegas as quickly as possible. "But what was it about this Casino again?"

Daedalus sighed. "Yes. My mother told me that when Odysseus and his men came across the island of the Lotus Eaters, they tempted the crew to stay on the island and dine with them. To the crew, it had only seemed like a few hours, but they stayed on the island for days. The crew did not want to leave. The Lotus Eaters could bend time, and will."

"So… you're saying that the Casino is like a trap?"

Daedalus nodded gravely. "It _is _a trap. It must be."

"So how do I get them out of there I psycho Lotus Eaters are everywhere?"

Daedalus regarded me in a wise way, as if he knew everything. "That is not the problem, Grover. You seem brave and strong. I don't think you will struggle with that." _Brave _and _strong _is not how I would describe me (but don't get me wrong, it was flattering) "… what I wish to inform you is that, if these children have been living in this Casino that can slow time, they must be…"

I clamped my hand over my mouth to prevent myself from bleating. "Very, very old." Daedalus nodded slowly, as if it pained him.

"Yes, well, think upon what that could mean. I can grant you access to Las Vegas immediately." He snapped his fingers, and a massive glowing casino appeared behind the once blank window. "Also, take this." Daedalus gave me a white whistle. It was cold to the touch. "Stygian iron. Blow on it, and Mrs. O'Leary will come to your aid. Be careful with it, as it is delicate, and can only be used once." I nodded. Mrs. O'Leary barked. Before I could say goodbye, I found myself standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

I took a deep breath.

"Oh my gods…"


	8. Chapter 8

**Luke Dies AU**

**Hey guys. Thanks for all the views! Remember to follow and fave!**

**VII – Bianca **

It took me a while to notice that Nico was gone.

After I finally beat the high score, I turned around and saw only figurines and cards on the ground behind me. I sighed. "Nico!" I called out, but I didn't have much energy. I was sick of Nico running away and trying to hide from me. It wasn't fair. I know, _he's eight_, I thought, but did he think that I loved it here? To be honest, I hated it.

But if he just listened to me, none of this would ever have happened.

"Nico…" I said again. Nothing. It was always the same. Nobody would ever look up from their stupid games and I'd eventually find Nico, who would always be hiding in the same spot. I looked at _World of Myth_, the only game Nico would play. He wasn't in the little gap behind the machine like he always was. Something serious had happened.

I looked at the game. You were supposed to be Hercules, some hero or something, and you had to save the world from evil or whatever. I looked around. All of these games were nice and addictive, but they just weren't worth it.

I walked around until I found a guy paying _Deer Hunter. _You were the deer and you had to hunt down the humans. "This game is exquisite indeed. Thy enjoy games?" I looked at the guy, puzzled. "You talk like it's the eighteenth century."

The guy chuckled. He wore strange overalls and some kind of farmer suit. His clothes looked even older than Nico's and mine – and they seemed to be the oldest looking in the hotel. "Because it is, thy lovely lady. 'Tis the great year of 1756. What year art thou believe?"

I was stunned - he couldn't be serious. I ran, whispering, _it's 1942, it's 1942, it's 1942._ But then, I realised. When Nico and I first arrived here, Nico said it was cool, but I thought it was just way too... strange. The way the lawyers kept changing all the time, it was just too weird. I dropped my card on the floor.

A friendly voice behind me said, "You dropped your card." For a second I thought it was Nico. I turned - it was just a boy that looked a few years older than me. He had bad acne and a wispy beard. 15 or 16, I guessed. He limped strangely over to my card and picked it up. He held it out to me.

"Thanks, but I don't want it." I said, and turned away. Then I spun around again. The boy was still there. "What year is it?"

The boy gasped. "What… what is your name?" I sighed. "Bianca di Angelo. Now what year is it?" The boy bleated. _Like a goat. _"Um…"

Before the boy could answer, three men came charging up behind us, screaming. They were dressed in suits and ties, but were brandishing seven foot long staffs embedded with decorations of pink Lotus flowers.

"There they are!" The middle one screamed. "Kill them; kill the murderers of our brethren!"

The boy wheezed ant took my hand. "Hurry!" We ran through a maze of arcade games. Nobody even turned to look at us. "This way!" The boy said. All I could think of was Nico, but I didn't let go of the boy's hand. I ran for my life. We came to a dead end. The men had split up and one of them had found us. "Well, well." He said. "Looks like I'll get you both to myself."

He lunged with his spear, and the boy dived in front of me. The spear knocked him aside, but the fierce momentum had knocked the man with him. They flew over the game machine and landed on the poker table, fighting hand-to-hand. I grabbed the staff off of the floor and noticed a piece of paper that fell out of the boy's pocket.

It had Nico's and my name, our 'unknown' parentage (weird) and our correct location. It was strange, but it made me worry even more about Nico. I grabbed the staff and was about to stand up, when a jab in the side knocked me down again. A spear identical to mine was now hovering above me.

"He, he, he. Foolish girl. It was your brother that managed to dispose of my brethren, wasn't it? He dispatched all three by himself. I wonder where he is _now."_ I grunted. "Stay away from my brother!" I screamed shakily. The man chuckled. Nobody stood up or noticed.

"Now you will die!"

The man lunged at me with his spear, but I managed to grab my spear and deflect it. The man was so strong that the spear snapped in half, but at least it bought me a few seconds. I scrambled up and ran, screaming "Nico!" at the top of my voice. "You'll never get him!" The man behind me said. "My other brother is busy with him!"

I paused and shuddered to think what that meant. The man took his chance and threw the spear. I turned around just before it would have impaled me in the back and I… caught it. There was a large black hand encased around my hand which caught the javelin. Instinctively, I threw the javelin packed and the man was impaled in the chest after letting loose and unearthly scream.

_Did I do that, _I thought. _Did I really just do that? Did I create a big black hand and kill a grown man… his scream was _not _human._

"The boy!" I exclaimed aloud. I went back to where the boy and the other man were, refusing to look at the cadaver of the man I had just killed.

The boy was still wrestling with the last man on the empty poker table. The boy seemed to be losing. His pants were torn and his shirt was even worse. The man pinned him down and grinned. "I like to eat the clothes first!" He licked his lips and ripped the boy's pants off.

Eww, right? I turned away.

I turned back and saw that the boy's legs were hairy. So hairy that you couldn't actually see his legs. His shoes were gone, and he had hooves. All he wore was the ragged orange t-shirt that read something I couldn't decipher. "It's been a while since I've had fresh satyr…"

Suddenly that power I felt before acted up again. Before the man could, um, _eat _the hairy boy, I unleashed a black ball of fire and his face and he fell off the table, unconscious. "Oh, thank you!" The boy exclaimed.

He took my hand again and we ran out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino, moving through all the adults that pushed our way. What was happening?

Despite all the strange things that had happened, Nico was the only thing on my mind.


	9. Chapter 9

**Luke Dies AU**

**VIII – Annabeth**

I woke with a start in a large room – a hall. My eyes were groggy and swollen and my hair was now brown with dirt. I gasped when I realised I was in the air. My arms and legs were tied down with rope and they ached from being stretched out so far. I shivered and started breathing heavily. _Don't panic, Annabeth. Don't panic._

"Deimos, stop. You're making her panic. And everybody knows that panic is just a rip off of fear." I gulped. Who was Deimos? What was happening?

An impossibly high voice answered. "Oh, Phobos, _please._ Everybody knows that prey are better when they panic."

"Well then, if you think that panic is better than fear, let's have a competition to see who can drive her mad first. And by the way, people only feel panic and terror when they feel fear."

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah uh!"

"Well… you're stupid."

"No! _You're_ stupid!"

"At least I'm daddy's favourite!"

While the two voices were fighting, I tried to figure out a way to escape. Did I still have my knife? Where was the werewolf that had brought me here?

A mighty howl answered my question.

The two voices stopped fighting and two of the weirdest men I had ever seen – plus the werewolf – appeared.

Both men seemed to be frowning at each other and I realised that they were Phobos and Deimos. The shorter one looked extremely buff and had tattoos all over his body. He might've been an extreme hardcore biker, but the look on his face was one of fear.

The taller one was exactly the opposite. He wore biker clothes and helmet, but they were all pink and yellow and decorated with flowers. The look on his face was even more horrible than the other man's – it still looked like fear, but a little more specific. Panic, or terror, maybe.

"Sorry about that, girlie. Deimos here is just going through a little… phase."

Deimos snorted. "Ignore Phobos. Fear is just mindless."

Phobos, the shorter one, sighed. "Okay, that was _TOO FAR._" Phobos looked up at Deimos intently. It said something like 'another time.'

Then he turned back to me. The werewolf said something that I couldn't understand. "No, no. You cannot eat her."

I was getting frustrated. Finally I decided to speak up. "No you can't eat me, because I am getting out of here RIGHT NOW!"

As if on cue, the whole hall exploded and five figures appeared at the other end – one was a half-man, half-horse. His name was Chiron.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was going to get out of here! Phobos, Deimos and the werewolf all turned around. I saw Phobos roll his eyes.

"Spirits of the fallen warriors, ATTACK!"

Suddenly, the room burst full of soldiers with swords and shields – but they were transparent. Ghosts.

"Werewolf, kill them!" Deimos roared. It sounded ridiculous with his squeaky voice.

The werewolf charged at Chiron and sent him flying through a hole in the window. He chased after him.

"Help!" I screamed, but nobody seemed to notice. The four teenagers below me were fighting ghost after ghost, but still, more came. Phobos and Deimos were floating through the air, arguing about who was 'Daddy's favourite.'

I clenched my fists. I needed to get out of there. I was certain I still had my bronze knife – or did the werewolf take it? Finally, somebody answered my call. The biggest girl – the one I remembered as Clarisse from the few days I stayed at Camp Half-Blood – jumped with a mighty roar and threw her spear up.

The spear cackled with electricity as if flew through the air and cut through the rope as if it was soft cheese. Naturally, I fell to the side because of the gravity holding up the ropes, but Clarisse had cut the other three within seconds.

"Are you alright?" She asked, helping me up. I nodded.

"Then join the fight."

I reached for my knife. It was still there. Before I could be relieved, a ghost soldier charged at me from behind.

"Ahh!" I screamed, and fell to the ground. The soldier loomed over me, and raised his sword – then his head came off.

Standing behind the ghost was a buff guy about two years older than me. He was infamous at the camp – Beckendorf. "There's too many to handle." He said, worried. "Wave after wave – every time you kill one, three more takes its place."

As if to prove his point, three ghost soldiers sprinted at him from all sides. In one expert slice, he managed to slash them all in the chest.

After helping me get up, he frowned. "Chiron and the werewolf are still missing, and Silena, Clarisse and the new girl are struggling."

He looked at me again. "Will you be able to fend for yourself?" I nodded with a wry smile. "Bring it on." He rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Now that's the spirit!" He ran off to protect a girl who looked my age – then I realised that it was the girl from History class – Piper McLean.

I slashed and slashed at ghost soldiers for what seemed like ages. They were actually pretty weak. The problem was that there were just too many. My skills in fighting monsters when I traveled with Thalia and Luke helped me a lot. At the thought of Luke, tears welled up in my eyes.

Whatever was happening, I would not fail. _I will avenge you, Luke. I will kill your murderer. _As the last ghost soldier suffered the wrath of my bronze knife, Phobos and Deimos floated back in to view. "Fine then," Phobos reasoned, "Daddy loves us equally." Deimos smiled – but it looked nightmarish, with the constant look of panic on his face.

"Oh, my, my!" Phobos said, covering his hand with his mouth. "All the ghost soldiers are gone! That's no good, I it, Deimos?"

Deimos nodded. "Not at all. Do your thing, Phobos. Show them their worst fears."

A wicked grin crossed Phobos' face as my darkest fear came true. Spiders, thousands and thousands of spiders, filled the hall.


End file.
